Tuesday, June 30, 2009

I seriously didn't know who to pull for in this match. I'm a huge fan of both these girls - in fact, they're probably my top two. I love the total sense of joie de vivre that Lisicki brings to the court, and I love the grit and determination that Safina has taught herself over the past two years or so. It was confusing - I'd be cheering for Lisicki when she had break points and then praying Safina would save them. I would find myself doing a fistpump on a Safina double fault when it benefited Lisicki. It was bizarre - I've never been able to pick between two players before. I always have a sense of who I want to win - even when Federer plays Safin, because although I love Marat very much, my heart belongs to Roger.

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But with these two, I just could not pick.

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I think I'm glad Dinara pulled through in the end though, I think. Lisicki is an up and comer in her first Slam quarter final - and I think you'd have to be a fool to think that she won't reach any more. She has some serious, serious game. But Dinara is supposed to have well and truly arrived, and while a quarter final is a great result for Sabine, it's not so much for Dinara. She really dug her heels into this match and for that I applaud her.

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But she must do something about the appalling amount of double faults she serves. That's just whacked out.

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She'll face Venus, and sorry Dinara, but I think the steamroller will be roaring in your direction. Venus demolished Radwanska today - even though Radwanska put up a lot more of a fight than the scoreline suggests. I felt sorry for poor A-Rad... she has a nice game, but there ain't nothing you can do when Venus gets in demolition mode.

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Serena also did a demolition job and I was glad of it, because we all know how I feel about Victoria Azarenka, the Novak Djokovic of women's tennis, spit spit. That girl has a serious attitude problem and I am incapable of appreciating her tennis until she does something about her behaviour. She behaves like a petulant child on court and she deserves everything Serena dished out to her, in my humble opinion. Good on you, Serena.

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Serena will face Elena Dementieva, who has had an absolute cakewalk of a draw so far. Cake. Walk. Seriously, Francesca Schiavone in the quarters? What on earth was Schiavone doing in the quarters? The ante is about to get upped majorly for Elegant Elena, and if I foresee a steamrolling for Safina at the hands of Venus, I'm foreseeing a potential double bagel here. This one could be nassssssssty.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Back to writing in the light of day. This feels much more normal. Apologies for the lack of rhythm!

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So Middle Sunday happened, followed up by possibly the most exciting day of the tournament, Manic Monday. And we had some cracking matches today - and I would just like to point out that although my strike rate for the women is pretty bad, all four of my men's semi-finalists are still in contention. Federer/Haas and a battle of the Andies. You heard it here first.

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But all four of these dudes had to come through the fourth round today, and there were a couple of interesting matches in there.

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Let's start with Federer/Soderling so I can get all my gushing out of the way. This was a very interesting match, and I think a good preperation for Federer's quarter final against Ivo Karlovic, because Soderling served brilliantly. There was only one break of serve in the entire match, which came in the first set - and the two tiebreaks were close affairs, the one in the third set in particular. If Soderling hadn't shot himself in the foot with that double fault at 5-all, who knows what might have happened? He played some great tennis and he was unlucky not to come up with at least a set.

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But anything anyone can do Roger Federer can probably do better, and he stayed cool and delivered the goods. He just looks so eminently comfortable on grass it's almost scary... actually, you know what's almost scary? Federer matches usually make me really nervous. My nerves throughout this tournament have been slight to non-existent. And that makes me nervous, because I'm sure it's some kind of jinx.

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Anyone, tough luck to the Yoker. I bet he was cursing his luck when his trajectory emerged and it was a round of sixteen clash with the big dude. And I bet he was cursing making that quip about eleven in a row in the Roland Garros presentation ceremony, because everyone remembered it.

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Another straight sets victory was that of Tommy Haas, and how about this guy? He's got the worst tennis luck in universal history and here he is in the quarter finals - and you really feel he deserves a good run after that titanic effort he put in against Roger in Roland Garros. He plays Novak Djokovic in the quarters, and if Djokovic isn't on his game, I reckon Tommy could get him. Djokovic has been coming through pretty quietly and efficiently, however... it's going to be interesting if nothing else. I'll be cheering for the big T-Haas, though!

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Andy Roddick looked simply lethal over Tomas Berdych. 'Nuff said. He'll face Lleyton Hewitt, who came back from two sets to love down against Stepanek, because he just doesn't know how to give up. You never want to count Lleyton out, but I'm smelling a quarter final crushing. Sorry Lleyton.

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And then in the match of the day, Andy Murray just edged out Stan Wawrinka in a five set epic. He's getting known for these Wimbledon R16 epics - remember the one against Gasquet last year? He was never quite as behind in this one as he was in that, but it was a near run thing. Great match from Stan Wawrinka - I was pulling for him, I have to admit, and I'm sad he couldn't pull it off. His backhand is totally divine. I loved it.

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Andy will now face Juan Carlos Ferrero, and you have to like him to win that one... it's going to be interesting!

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Over in the ladies' tennis... my heart breaks for Ana Ivanovic, poor girl. Injuries galore, and she was all crying, and it was sad, and... well, Venus was going to beat her anyway, but it's sad it had to happen like that. Serena also came through, taking approximately four seconds to win her match in order to get off the frankly insulting Court 2 - I don't know why they put her out there, but that is seriously whack. Safina through after a struggle. Dementieva through, in a sudden burst of form. A few others, and...

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...and my special favourite, Sabine Lisicki. I love love LOVE this girl. She just looks so happy and ebullient playing tennis, and she's damn good too. Her quarter final match against Safina is going to be a hard one for me - I like them both!

Sunday, June 28, 2009

I am totally out of my writing rhythm. I need to start writing in the mornings again instead of the evening. This is totally weird.

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Another good win for Lleyton Hewitt last night - thought I'd put this out there now before I forget to talk about it, because he's not my main topic of conversation today. He took out Philipp Petzschner in three pretty decent sets - it was an entertaining match. Most entertaining match award of the day has to go to the end of Haas/Cilic, which finished 10-8 in the fifth - you have to feel for Cilic but if this hasn't tired Haas out I can totally see him making the semis. He has such a good shot.

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Also impressive in five was Radek Stepanek, who beat David Ferrer despite suffering some bizarre injury. If it actually is a badness, then Lleyton Hewitt is NOT the player he wants to be facing in the next round, considering the amount of balls the little guy gets back. This'll be an interesting one to see, that's for sure.

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But on the subject of injury, this brings to me to my main subject today - Jelena Jankovic, who had approximately fourteen thousand injuries in her match today, and who always seems to carrying a few. I don't have an issue with that - players get injured and some get injured more than others. This happens, I'm all right with that.

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But what I am NOT cool with is what she said about her opponent.

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JJ, when you lose, there ain't no one can take the blame but you. YOU lost. There might be extenuating circumstances, but at the end of the day, YOU LOST. Deal with it. You DO NOT come out and say that your opponent 'has no weapons' and 'can't really hurt you'. That is absolutely not cool. That is totally disrespectful of Melanie Oudin, and if she holds a grudge against you for the rest of eternity, I totally do not blame her. She beat you, JJ. You lost. Deal with it.

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I know that JJ isn't exactly enamoured of my man Roger Federer due to some comments he made about the WTA rankings when she was #1 (I think we all agree that the rankings are totally f*cked), but she needs to take a lesson from him. When was the last time you heard him go 'yeah, my opponent had nothing and I was sick'? The man kept glange secret for months! Sure, that's a bit extreme, but you must ALWAYS give credit to an opponent. To do otherwise demonstrates a total lack of sportsmanship.

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So JJ is in my bad books. And if she doesn't improve her attitude, she's staying there. I'm glad Oudin beat her. I hope Oudin beats her again. JJ needs to learn that humility and respect is one of the most important parts of sport. And I hope Oudin makes her eat her words.

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Two lovely girls that played off against each other were Kuznetsova and Lisicki, and much as I like Sveta, I'm glad Lisicki won that one. I'd be happy to see her go deep in this tournament. She is such an ebullient, lovely sportswoman - and Sveta gave her fair credit. That is the way to do things.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

I feel like I want to take the world by the throat and tell it to settle down. Has anyone else noticed the pervasive OH MY GOD ROGER FEDERER LOST A SET WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIIIIIIIIIIE mentality that's suddenly appeared post the Kohlschreiber match? I can't be the only one, surely - it's everywhere!

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Well, world, here is me grabbing you by the throat and telling you to settle, Gretel.

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One set. One set and there's a global freakout. Maybe the world was on edge what with all the various celebrity tragedies, but it was pretty ridiculous.

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Sure, that third set against Kohlschreiber was not the bestest set ever played by Roger ever, and he really should have won it after being up a break, but he lost in a close breaker, and I think the world can agree that instead of putting the hammer down when he was ahead, he started an experimental period of attempted linepainting which didn't go so well. And then he got irritated at the indignity of it that he had to go and win 6-1 in the fourth.

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Not to take anything away from Kohlschreiber, because he didn't play a bad match. You can't, if you want to take a set off the man, even if he's gone into playgroup mode. But there seems to be an awful lot of hysteria over one set. Federer lost a whole bunch of sets over in France - one is nothing.

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My two cents, anyway.

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I was surprised at how easily Djokovic came through Mardy Fish - he's playing better than I thought he was going to, which is good for him (even though he still has a repellent personality). But the match of the day has to be one which isn't even finished yet - the throwdown showdown between Tommy Haas and Marin Cilic. I'm pretty sure that's the Djokovic quarter, yes? I initially picked Haas to make the semis, but if Cilic comes through this one (they're currently locked at 6-6 in the fifth) I wouldn't be surprised either. And if the five setter doesn't take too much out of the tank, then I think whomever wins the match will win the quarter. And it's not like they'll have to play straight up - ah, middle Sunday.

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I'm going to be interested to see how Hewitt plays tonight - switched over to a bit of preview action now, sorry for the abrupt change. I can totally foresee him falling in a heap against Petzschner after his big win against del Potro. Conversely, I can see him making the quarters, so I don't know. Same for Stosur, really - she's got bad Wimbledon hoodoo from the past, so can she shake it off?

Thursday, June 25, 2009

I feel exactly the same about Hewitt as I do about Sharapova. Off court, he's so fricking annoying. On court, I can't help but love the little bugger.

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There's something about his tenacity - his 'fighting spirit' as commentators love to call it. The man just doesn't know when to give up - and on the tennis court, it's a good thing. He has a massive sense of self-belief - it maybe isn't warranted, considering he's not exactly in the top ten these days, but it has got him where he's been and occasionally it lets him pull out things like this win.

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Juan Martin del Potro. Not exactly a grass court wizard, but he just about made the French final (would have done it had been playing anyone but Federer) and seriously, dude can play. He didn't play great last night, but you don't get to be best of the rest if you can't win a match when you're not playing well. But Hewitt pretty much ate him for breakfast.

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It'll be interesting to see how Hewitt progresses in this tournament. I'd like to see him make a good run - if he'd lived in another era, I think he'd have won a few more Slams, but the Federer factor has damaged a lot more players than Lleyton. I think he's in danger of getting too big for his boots and taking a bad loss now that he's had this good win, but if he doesn't, I'd be really interested to see him play one of the Andies - Murray or Roddick. If either of them has an off day, Lleyton really has a shot.

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Not that I think he's going to make the final or anything, because I don't. But semis? If he's very lucky. Quarters? It's possible, definitely. Fourth round? If he doesn't get there, that's a badness.

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So, Lleyton, to quote yourself, c'mon. Let's see how much petrol is left in the tank.

I can't help it. I've tried, and I can't help it. I really, really like Maria Sharapova.

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Off court, I think she's a bit of an idiot. I'm not a fan of her personality or her bandying of herself about on the endorsement circus - sex sells, said Michael Stich (spit spit), and Sharapova is up there as one of the biggest glamazons of the tennis tour.

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But I can't help it. When I see her on court, I often can't help but go for her.

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It's the same thing as I get with Lleyton Hewitt. It's the grit, the determination, the fighting spirit - I can't stand either of them off court, but on court, when they're grinding it out, you can't help but cheer for them most of the time. They don't give up. They believe. They fight.

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Sure, it doesn't always work. Sharapova lost yesterday to Dulko. But you can't help but think that she believed in her chances right up to the very last point.

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People have been talking about how she's on the way out after coming back and, you know, not immediately winning everything she's played. Personally, I think the media is insane. Sharapova's results since that layoff have been great. The abbreviated service motion might be compromising her a bit, but mostly I think that once she plays herself back into the tour she's going to be as big a force as she's ever been.

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And it's not because she's talented, because she is - but so are a lot of people, a lot of journeymen and journeywomen that have never made it to the top. What makes Maria Maria is her grit and her determination. She could be ranked nine millionth in the world and still believe in herself - sure, she gets beaten sometimes, but I think for the majority of players, they're still going to be asking themselves how to solve a problem like Maria for quite some time.

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I cannot finish up today without some words for my man the Maestro, who was absolutely supreme today against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez: and I have to share some humorous words of a friend of mine. 'Roger's chest hair is not a carpet,' said she, 'it is a rich tapestry.'

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Yeah, I had to share that.

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But his game was absolutely sublime. The wizard, Monsieur le Fed, is gliding here. He is a thing of beauty to watch, and I feel privileged to watch him. And his clothes. And his rich tapestry, occasionally emerging on changeovers.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

I confess that I'm not sure what to write today - I actually fell asleep during the Wimbledon coverage last night (shame on me) and as always, Channel 9 only saw fit to show the Aussies, so I caught some Stosur and Hewitt and not much else.

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Let's talk Stosur and Hewitt for a minute. I really like Stosur's game, and while she probably could have performed better in her match against Bethanie Mattek-Sands and closed it out in two, her game is great on grass and I'm liking what I'm seeing just now. I think she should come through her second round match - she plays the qualifier who took out a not-herself Dokic - and she really has the ability to go deep here, just like she did at Roland Garros. Though she does have Venus in her section, who would be very, very difficult to upset.

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And Hewitt! I'm liking what I'm seeing off the little guy's racquet. The Channel 9 commentators said that if he comes through del Potro he could go all the way to the semis, and while I think this is a tad unrealistic, if he does come through del Potro he could go deep. It's del Potro who's the question, and he really was quite impressive, I understand - I listened to some of his match on Radio Wimbledon, and he seemed in fine form and fettle. Still, if Hewitt can get a lot of balls back and make the big guy get low low low to his shots, he's in for a real shot. That will be a really interesting match.

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But the story of the day is obviously Andy Murray, who is destined to be the story of every day he plays while he is still in the tournament, being, you know, British and all. The Muzz - I saw a few points of his match in a foggy sleepy haze - did drop a set, but I don't know how much it is to worry about... dropping a set is fine, as long as it wasn't the pressure getting to him. The British are really making it as hard as possible for their guys - if the Australian press put pressure on the Aussies, it is nothing to what the Brits do to their own. They crush you, like bricks. (Like Brits. Hahahaha).

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Just look at Anne Keothavong. Someone asked her a question which opened something like, 'this isn't meant to be an accusation, but...' I'm sorry, but excuse me? That is not cool. How are these players supposed to function under that amount of pressure? I think the rest of that question was, '...do you feel like you've disappointed a lot of people?' What kind of question is that? I would have bitchslapped that journalist silly. Anne started crying and they had to pause the press conference. And you can't blame her, because the pressure is obscene.

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The Muzz has always seemed pretty thick-skinned, but is he immune to this kind of pressure? It's totally immense. He's definitely got the game to reach the final - but if he can bear the weight of this much expectation, then he really has got something HUGE to be proud of. Not that reaching the final in and of itself isn't massive - but to reach it in such a pressurised circumstance is incredible. It's kind of like what Federer did making the finals of Roland Garros after Nadal lost - he basically had to play four finals because of the expectation. Now all of Britain is staring at Andy Murray - can he hack it?

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

There is something truly magical about watching Roger Federer play on grass that I think we lost last year when he was grinding through mono, and watching him play Rendy Lu yesterday, it was wonderful to see that he's back. David Foster Wallace described it as a religious experience, and I can see why - he practically floats on the grass. I swear he walks about two feet above it and flies.

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Hell, even when he took that fall, it was graceful.

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And how about that shot round the netpost, hmmm? That has to be one of the shots, if not the shot of the year. It was amazing.

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And because it cannot be ignored... I love the outfit. Maybe not the bag, but I dig the jacket and I love the waistcoat. I know it's not so popular, but I love it. I know Dootsiez over at All I Need Is A Picket Fence wants to see a monogrammed cape and undies worn outside shorts next year - personally, I'm gunning for a cloak. A looooooong one. Possibly lined with faux ermine. With a hood. And a wizard hat. Or possibly a crown.

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A word has to go to the man unlucky enough to face King Roger - I really like Lu Yen-hsun ("Rendy") and I'm sad he got this draw, because I mean, hello, as if I'm pulling against Roger. I really would see to like him go a few rounds at a Slam this year, because he really has a beautiful game - and he generally played calm in the big moments, which is so important. His clutch serving was great and he hit some great winners. He refused to let Federer steamroll him, and you have to give him kudos for that. Well done, Rendy.

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Someone who did get steamrolled is James Blake. Seriously, what is wrong with him? Is he injured or just a basket case? He has done nothing this year. He is not only a member of the Club of Lost Souls, he's the current president. I have no clue what the dealio is with him, and I don't think I have much patience with it, either. Spank your inner moppet and get over it, whatever it is, James.

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Over to the women, and the story of the day from my perspective had to be Jarmila Groth, who had a great win over Lucie Safarova - one of one Aussie through to the second round so far, which is good! Latest inductee to the Club of Lost Souls, however (though not up to Blake standards) is Patty Schnyder. Don't know what's up there.

Monday, June 22, 2009

The first matches are being played at Wimbledon as we speak - Roger Federer has just walked out onto the court. It is somehow right that he is playing first on Centre Court, even though last year was Rafa's. Wimbledon is his ground.

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Lu Yen-hsun (Rendy) is a tough match-up, but I'm excited for this match. I don't have much to say yet - I'm going to have to do this blog at night instead of in the morning just for the sake of my sanity, otherwise I will have no sleep and will turn into a zombie, so I might be posting at some pretty weird times, so I apologise.

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What I really want to reflect on is what Wimbledon means. All four Slams are very important, but Wimbledon is somehow special. I don't know what it is about this tournament, given that it is played on possibly the least significant surface in tennis - sure, three of the Slams used to be on grass, but it's played on so little these days it's almost ludicrous. But still the grass of Wimbledon remains sacred.

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Wimbledon has a poet in residence. What other tournament could possibly do that?

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There is a weight of tradition at Wimbledon that you don't get anywhere else. The Aussie Open is fun and sunny, Paris down and dirty, the US Open like a rock concert. But Wimbledon is the tennis they played of old. Maybe it is because grass is such an antiquated surface. Would Roger Federer whip out a blazer/cardy/waistcoat at any other tournament?

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This ramble isn't very coherent. I apologise. But it's something I'd like to keep reflecting on over the course of this tournament. What is it that makes this tournament so different? Why is Wimbledon the Holy Grail?

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Wimbledon starts tomorrow! How quickly it has crept up on us! And I, for one, am totally excited - this media saturation it's got going on is totally infectious! So without further ado: we've done our Wimbledictions for the menfolks, let's do it for the ladies:

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The top quarter is the Safina quarter, and I get the feeling she would rather not have been seeded first. The seeding committee was extraordinarily kind to both her and her brother, but I think she'd rather have been seeded a little lower and tried to fly under the radar a bit, after the pressure cooker that was Paris. She could run into Szavay in the third round and that could be a tough one for her if she's feeling under pressure - here's hoping that she's settled a bit.

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She lost in the semis of s'Hertogenbosch, and what was most remarkable about that tournament was that the omnipresent Zeljko was away for a lot of it as his daughter was sick (I think) so she was flying blind. To me, this might have been the best possible thing for her. To not have his face in her box must have been hard, but after those stares that she was delivering during the Roland Garros final I think it's good for her not to have him around sometimes. Here's hoping she delivers at the big W.

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But I'm going to pick teen queen Caro Wozniacki to come through this side. She was impressive in Eastbourne and I see no reason why she can't back it up. All the way to the semis with her, I think - though I'll be cheering for Dinara. I can't help myself.

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The second quarter belongs to Venus. Sure, she's performed pretty rubbish in both Australia and France, but she's a different creature on the grass. I would have made her the top seed and I know I'm not the only one. There is very little doubt in my mind that she will win this quarter, provided she is fully fit. She has both the Serbian girls in here but I don't see either of them pulling a threat - strangely enough, because I never find myself saying this, I think her biggest threats are the Aussie girls. Stosur and Dokic are both in this quarter and they've both performed on the big stage this year. I wouldn't be surprised to see one of them go deep at all. But I don't see anyone coming through Venus.

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The third quarter is probably the most open, and I'm having real trouble picking a semi finalist here. I'm tempted to go with Dominika Cibulkova, because I'm not seeing Dementieva or Zvonareva having a big impact, unless Zvonareva has really come back off injury firing on all cylinders. This is really anyone's quarter.

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So I'm going to go with someone random. I'm going to pick Yanina Wickmayer, who made the final in s'Hertogenbosch, where she went down to tiny Tammy Tanasugarn. She's proven she can play on grass and she's in form, which is more than anyone else has done. But I would like to point out that I am not confident here, and that anyone of the 32 players in this quarter is a potential winner.

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Last quarter = Serena. I don't have any doubts there. Azarenka, Sharapova and Pavlyuchenkova are possible challengers - this is definitely the strongest quarter, in my opinion, but if Serena's firing, I don't see anyone coming through her. End of story.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Guess I'm going to have to do some revising of my blokes' Wimbledictions, which I kind of expected I would have. All I can say is this - get well soon, Rafa.

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You've got to feel for the guy, you really do. This must be utterly devastating, not being able to defend a crown like Wimbledon, which is basically the biggest crown in tennis. And to have such a lot of bad press and people saying he was bunging it on to get some sympathy as a sort of excuse for losing to Soderling in his backyard in Paris... it's pretty insulting, really. Poor guy. Poor, poor guy.

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I read somewhere that Rafa's loss to Soderling was like the first time in his career that he got punched in the teeth, and the writer was up on their high horse for Rafa immediately crying knee problems. I mean, sure, admittedly it might look a bit suss, but let's just say it was Federer (heaven forbid he should get injured!) who did that. I think we'd be a lot quicker to believe him than we have to believe Rafa.

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My point being that I think Rafa deserves our trust. If nothing else, this Wimbledon withdrawal means that if Rafa says he's injured, then he's really, really f*cking injured.

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Poor guy.

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We all know that I'm a Roger lass, but Rafa deserves so much respect, and he deserves so much more than this - than being scorned by the media and not being able to defend his Wimbledon crown. Here's hoping he has a lovely time in Mallorca chillin' with his girlfriend Xisca and his family and getting better, because he's too nice a guy and too good a player for us to lose from the tour.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Wimbledon is coming upon us. Somehow, with the technological media being saturated by it - the tournament suddenly being all over Facebook and Twitter - it seems bigger than it ever did before. The draws have just come out, and while I'm tempted to start with the women, given that anything I say about the men's draw is under the Nadal caveat, it's pretty obvious that this is where my heart is. So, my Wimbledon predictions (Wimbledictions?) for the men!

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So, let's start at the top, with the Nadal quarter - should he play, given the whole KneeGate crisis currently. Everyone seems to have been excusing him of bunging it on this week, but I think it's becoming increasingly obvious that this is a real problem. Rafa Nadal does not lose in straight sets to Lleyton Hewitt, not even in an exo. And Uncle Toni does not come out and say that he thinks Rafa should go straight back to Mallorca if there is not something seriously, seriously wrong.

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...and should Rafa play, guess who he'd get second round, provided he got through Arnaud Clement in the first round (and Arnaud was a quarterfinalist here last year). Lleyton Hewitt. And if his knees are as bad as they seem, I would not be above picking an upset here. Hewitt is going to run for everything, which means the points would be looooooong. And that is not something Rafa would really want, unless he can basically stand still on the baseline and dictate.

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Tursunov, Stepanek and Ferrer are all lurking in this section, but I actually wouldn't be surprised to see Hewitt come through and do well - he is a grass boy, and if Rafa doesn't get him, then I think he might go quite a way. But the winner of this quarter, for me, has to be Andy Roddick. In fact, I think he's going to make the final. A fully fit Rafa would eat him for breakfast, but we don't have that, and Andy is in fine form and fettle right now. He's got a tough first round against Jeremy Chardy, but I think he can get past Berdych and Davydenko, the big names in his section, to take out this quarter.

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The second quarter is the Murray quarter, and if Andy Roddick isn't in the final, Andy Murray will be - unless this really has been a KneeGate saga and Rafa is suddenly fine, which I doubt. He could face a tough one in the second round, if Gulbis suddenly remembers how to play tennis again, but I don't see Wawrinka or Gonzalez stopping him, and Safin would really have to pull a rabbit out of the hat to make a semi final reprise. I think we're going to see a semi final battle of the Andies. I'm picking Roddick, but Murray is definitely a possibility.

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Then we have the Djokovic quarter, and while a lot of people have been picking an early exit for him, I think he actually has a pretty good route. However, I'm going to go out on a limb and pick a real upset for this section - especially if Juan Martin del Potro gets moved in the draw up to take Rafa's spot. I think our semi finalist here will be Tommy Haas. He's got the game at the moment and I reckon he could sneak into the semis much like Schuettler did last year. It could be very, very interesting, this quarter... it's not that hard a quarter, but that could just mean bigger upsets.

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And then we come to the Federer quarter - which I think is the hardest of the lot. There are some big grass court names in there - Lopez and Karlovic leap out, and, after his run in Paris, so does Kohlschreiber. Yen-hsun Lu is not an easy first round draw for the Swiss Mister either. However, all this said, I think Roger's going to come through just fine. All the way to the final. And the title. Oh yeah.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Okay, what is with this seed massacre going on in s'Hertogenbosch and Eastbourne this week? It's crazy! It's covering both the men's and women's tournaments, and it seems that no one is immune. Is it grass? Or is it just that we're having a ker-razy week?

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The only draw which seems even a little immune is the men's draw at Eastbourne, we have the #2, #4 and #8 seeds in the semis - but still, they're hardly the four seeds you'd expect! That's Tursunov, Santoro and Garcia-Lopez... and a qualifier, Frank Dancevic. What's the bet that Dancevic goes on to win the title? From memory, he's already knocked out the top seed (which was Andreev, I think). It looks like we're having a bit of a misrule hangover from Roland Garros.

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In the women at Eastbourne, the only seed left standing is #6, which is Caroline Wozniacki. (Odd, isn't it, that the women's draw seems to have attracted a lot more high-end players than the men - Dementieva as a top seed has a lot more pulling power as a name than Andreev). I really would like see Caro go on to win the tournament, and considering the rest of her opposition consists of Razzano, Bartoli and Wozniak, she should be able to do it... though Bartoli is a former Wimbledon finalist, I suppose, and has game on grass. Still, if Caroline can't pull this one off you practically have to write the tournament off as a moment of WTA insanity.

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...which is mirrored over in s'Hertogenbosch, where only top seed Dinara Safina remains standing - and only after a real battle against Daniela Hantuchova. It would be great for her to win this title to get her confidence back up after the Chernobyl incident in the Roland Garros final, and like Wozniacki, she should be able to do it: her opposition is Tanasugarn, Wickmayer and Schiavone, all players she should theoretically be able to beat with one hand tied behind her back. So here's hoping she does.

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And our last bastion of normalcy in the men's s'Hertogenbosch draw is fourth seed Rainer Schuettler - and even though he's the seed, I don't think there's any way in hell I'd pick him to win. Even if he did make the Wimbledon semis last year. Up against him is Becker, Navarro (who put an absolute pounding on defending champ Ferrer) and Sluiter. I think this one might be Becker's. It'd be nice to see him come up through qualies like that - and he really does have a great game.

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So, in conclusion, there's general madness, and I think the only thing you can really attribute it to is the miniscule amount of play that happens on this surface. And why is that? Wimbledon is probably the most important event of the year! Why does Roland Garros get two or three months of lead up clay tournaments when Wimbledon only gets two weeks?

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

There I go saying all that nice stuff about Marcos Baghdatis yesterday and how nice it is to see him playing on the tour, and then he goes and retires in his match against Raemon Sluiter. I guess these mysterious injuries that have been plaguing him are still... well, plaguing him. Get well soon, Marcos.

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In other news, I think we have a few new contenders for entry into the Club of Lost Souls. Tempting as it is to enter the entire women's top ten and leave it at that, we have to be a little more selective. Ana Ivanovic is definitely in there, after losing to Petrova the other day - which wasn't even technically an upset, given that Petrova was seeded and Ivanovic was not. Jankovic is scrabbling at the door, after an embarrassing loss yesterday - whatever happened to JJ, anyway? But today's contender for Girl Who Has Lost Her Way is Elena Dementieva.

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And the year started off so well.

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I don't know how you reconcile the beginning of her year, where she won two straight tournaments and then made the Australian Open semis, with the big fat nothing that's happened since. She did get a bit of a hammering in the Australian Open, I suppose -Serena saw to that - but Safina got a worse one, and she still managed to dominate the claycourt season and reach the Roland Garros final. You see Dementieva sort of hanging about in draws now, maybe going a couple of rounds here and there, but the last time I can remember her winning is January.

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What's remarkable is how unremarkable this is. I don't think I've actually seen her play a single match since the Australian Open, though she obviously had. Her loss of way has been completely under the radar. I could offer no commentary on what she needs to fix in her game, what she needs to get back on track - well, I probably couldn't anyway being totally uneducated, but whatever - but she needs to do something. She's just taken another early round loss, and for a player with her capability, that should not be happening.

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So get back on the path, Elena. The Club of Lost Souls is so full with your WTA compatriots that you couldn't swing a cat in there at the moment. Prove me wrong.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

You know who I've missed - and who I think the tennis world has missed? Marcos Baghdatis.

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I assume he's been having injury troubles, because I haven't seen him around for a while. This is a crying shame, because not only is he a nice player to watch, he just brings so much extra flair to the court. Maybe I'm a little biased, being Australian and thus privy to the massive Greek crowds that support him so vocally at the Aussie Open, but he really brings a lot of personality to the table, with his big cheeky smile and effervescent attitude. The world needs more players like Marcos.

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I say all this on account of Marcos suddenly turning up again in s'Hertogenbosch and winning a match - a good one too, knocking out second seed Tommy Robredo. I mean, sure, Tommy Robredo is Spanish, not Rafa and thus probably allergic to grass (even if David Ferrer won the title here last year) and Marcos is a former Wimbledon semi-finalist, but whatever. Marcos has been away for a while (I think he was in the first round of Roland Garros, but I don't really remember) and it's nice to see him win one.

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The same thing is true, to a lesser degree, of Ivan Ljubicic. He's played some excellent tennis this year after a big slump, and it is totally great to see him playing well. He's an excellent statesman of the game and probably one of the most eloquent tennis players I've ever seen, and I like it when nice people do well. It makes the world seem a little bit fairer.

Monday, June 15, 2009

In all that talk of grunting yesterday, I don't think I really stopped to give our weekend winners much of a talking about - which is a mighty shame, because there were some interesting results. So here goes!

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First of all, the British media went absolutely psycho over Andy Murray winning Queen's - and with good reason. Sure, he was the top seed and sort of expected to win, but he's the first Brit to win a grasscourt title since about 1066, so you can understand why. And I've got to say... while, internationally, Murray goes into Wimbledon a tiny bit under the radar - who wouldn't be eclipsed by that final we had last year with Rafa and Roger? - I think there is good reason to think that he'll go deep. I don't know if he's at finals level yet - actually, I think it depends which half of the draw he ends up in. I don't really like anyone's chances against Federer right now, still riding the happy wave from Roland Garros and looking to pull a Borg, but if Murray ends up in the Nadal half of the draw, and Nadal's knees are a badness, and Murray's got that whole crowd behind him... it could be very, very interesting.

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I'm going to tip him to at least play out his seeding and make it to the semis. Further tippage will ensue once we have the draw. This much is certain - I think Tim Henman will be a little annoyed if Andy manages to steal his thunder!

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Over to Halle, and here's looking at you, Tommy Haas. The big German with the shoulder held together by sticky tape is in some fine form at the moment. He beat both Tsonga and Djokovic en route to the title, and that is no mean feat - though one really has to put a giant question mark over Djokovic at the moment. He says he's still mentally exhausted from that match against Nadal in Madrid, where he had the match points... Novak, please. That was a thousand years ago now. Suck it up and get over it. The way he's playing, I wouldn't be surprised to see another early round exit, particularly if he gets one of those tricky players early on, like he did at Wimbledon last year, when he went out to Safin in the second round.

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But enough of Djokovic. Back to Haas. He did a fine, fine job in securing that title - just like Murray, in his home country, as well. Not too shabby at all. I don't think I'm quite up to tipping him to making a surprise finals showing, but depending on what area of the draw he's in, he could easily make it to the round of sixteen or even the quarters. We'll wait and see, I suppose!

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And Magdalena Rybarikova won her first title in Birmingham. I don't know much about Rybarikova - the only time I've ever seen her play was live, when she got bagelled by Vera Zvonareva at the Aussie Open. She seems to have bounced back from that all right, so snaps to you, Magdalena!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

I bet Aravane Rezai is reeeeeeeeally popular in the locker room right now. I have this mental image of Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka, Serena Williams and Michelle Larcher de Brito shoving her into a locker. Why? Because the ITF - finally - is thinking about doing something about grunting.

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I read this statistic that said that Sharapova's grunt was nearly the same decibel level as a lion's roar. Larcher de Brito's grunt wasn't on the list of decibels, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was louder. Everyone has noticed this - viewers round the world have been muting their TV sets on Sharapova and co. for years. But since the Rezai incident at the French Open, where she basically pointed out the elephant in the room, the ITF has been forced into action.

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At the most extreme, the way I understand it, a player can be defaulted for grunting, and this to me seems a bit extreme. Sure, grunting is a pain, but I am pretty sure it's relatively involuntary. I wonder if there's a sort of yardstick they're going to use. The criterion is whether or not it distracts the opponent, but you can imagine that some gamesmanship might go on there, exploiting that rule. And if you've been a grunter for life, can you break yourself of the habit?

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I don't really have a formed opinion on this subject. I'll have to ponder it more. But I'll be very interested to see what rules come in.

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Over to the actual tennis. The winners of Queen's and Halle last year turned out to be the Wimbledon finalists, but I will be quite surprised if that turns out to be the case this year. Kudos to Murray and major kudos to Haas, who really deserved a victory (especially one where he defeated a top four player) after he came so close in Roland Garros. Nice work, boys!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

You know what? I was prepared to be spectacularly unimpressed by Maria Sharapova's comeback. I was prepared to see a whole big string of early round losses and the few wins that she did manage to eke out, I thought she'd eke out by willpower alone, nothing to do with game.

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Well, I wasn't entirely wrong - Maria's biggest weapon has seemed to be, indeed, her willpower - but I have actually been really pleasantly surprised by the Sharapova showing. After a pretty early exit in Warsaw, she got through to the quarters of what is arguably the most physically testing Slam of them all - which was better, I might point out, than her showing there last year, when she went in ranked #1 and went out in a fourth round nailbiter to Dinara Safina.

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And now she's just gone down in a reasonably tight semi to Li Na in Birmingham - not bad, considering Li Na can prove troublesome for the best of players on the best of days. It will be interesting to see how she fares at the Big W - how her body holds up after playing so much tennis after that layoff. On the whole, though, I have to say that this is one of the best comebacks I've seen. It's early days yet, of course, but I'd say Maria's well on track.

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Someone about whom I am concerned, on the other hand, is Andy Roddick, who sustained an ankle injury in his semi final in Queen's against James Blake and had to retire. I hope that he's better for Wimbledon - I love seeing A-Rod on the grass! Those two finals he played against Federer are some of my favourite matches... one-sidedness and all.